Psalm 117

Psalm 117 is the 117th psalm of the Book of Psalms. With just two verses and sixteen words in Hebrew, it is the shortest of all 150 psalms.

It is the 595th of the 1,189 chapters of the King James Version of the Bible, making it the middle chapter. It is also the shortest chapter in this version of the Bible.

Psalm 117

Uses

The Tosher Rebbe of Montreal, Canada shaking the Four species during Sukkot while praying Hallel.

Judaism

It is one of six psalms (113-118) of which Hallel is composed. On all days when Hallel is recited, this psalm is recited in its entirety.[1]

Christianity

In this psalm, the gentiles are invited to join in praise of God. Christians view this as a fulfillment of God's promise of mercy to the gentiles, pointing to God's promise that all nations would be blessed in the seed of Abraham, who they believe is Christ, as described in the book of Galatians. Galatians 3:16 says "The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ."

In the Roman Catholic church, the Rule of St Benedict, assigned this psalm to the Office of Vespers on Monday. St Benedict of Nursia generally used four psalms in Vespers, but because of the shortness of this psalm, he added a fifth when it was used. However, Psalm 117 is currently used in the Liturgy of the Hours every Saturday. The psalm may be sung after Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, used in Roman Catholic[2] and some Anglican churches.

Musical settings

Psalm 117 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Psalm 117, known by the opening words in Latin as "Laudate dominum" (translated "O, Praise the Lord" or "Praise ye the Lord"), has been set to music by a number of composers, including William Byrd,[3] Michel Richard Delalande,[4] and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. More recently, there is a setting by the Swedish composer Fredrik Sixten and a popular arrangement from the Taizé community.[5]

References

  1. ↑ The Complete Artscroll Siddur page 638
  2. ↑ The Benedictines of Solesmes, ed. Liber Usualis, p. 1853. New York: Desclee Company, 1961.
  3. ↑ William Byrd, (Gradualia II (1607),) no. 45.
  4. ↑ http://www.bibliotheques.versailles.fr/simclient/Integration/FONDS_ANCIEN/DossiersDoc/voirDossManuscrit.asp?INSTANCE=DOSSIERSDOCS_VERSAILLES&DOSS=BKDD_BMVMsmus_000002_MSMUS14 [archive] p.46
  5. ↑ http://www.taize.fr/spip.php?page=chant&song=463&lang=en
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Psalm 117.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.